The 2017 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey had pitted Ennis against Roscommon and Kildare.

A special €40,000 public sculpture is to be commissioned for Ennis to mark the achievement.

Waterford was again the cleanest city.

Environment Minister Denis Naughten broadly welcomed the survey results, and congratulated the communities and councils for their hard work during the past year.

He highlighted the special effort made by the people and businesses of Ennis and Clare County Council.

The overall results showed that 88% of towns and cities in Ireland were found to be as clean as or cleaner than their European counterparts.

It was a mixed bag for cities, however, with Tallaght and Limerick City improving but Dublin Centre falling back to moderately littered.

Source: IBAL

According to IBAL chewing gum, cigarette butts and cans continue to be major sources of litter.

An Taisce, which conducts the surveys on behalf of IBAL, commented in its report on Ennis: "An exceptional result for Ennis, which has performed strongly in recent surveys. All approach roads to Ennis got the top litter grade and this high standard was maintained for almost all of the sites surveyed in the town."

Congratulating Ennis, Conor Horgan of IBAL said: "We have seen standards of cleanliness rise and rise since we first commenced this programme back in 2002.

"To achieve top spot now requires maintaining an entire town in an almost pristine condition, which a local authority cannot do alone. In recognition of this fact, the IBAL sculpture is intended as a tribute to the people of Ennis."